Modelling Submicron Aerosol Formation in the Atmosphere of Mining Regions

This article is concerned with the urgent problem of atmospheric air pollution in the post-industrial phase of the development of mining regions. Methodological approaches to the hygienic diagnostics of local aerosol pollution of the atmosphere have been elaborated. The modeling object was the Ursk dump of barite-pyrite loose material, formed in the 1930s after gold extraction by cyanidation in Ursk settlement, the Kemerovo Region. The field model of the dump was formed by the samples of sulphide-containing wastes collected from the object in summer. At the first stage, a theoretical analysis of the information presented in the literature on the physicochemical and toxic properties of aerosol particles in the submicron range, which pose risks to the environment and public health in mining areas, was carried out. At the stage of hazard identification, the application of the field modeling of atmospheric migration processes of target particles and mercury vapour from a sulphide-containing waste disposal facility was scientifically justified. At the modelling stage, which consisted of heating the waste samples to a temperature of 28.2±0.1, 33.0±0.1 and 50.0±0.3 °C, the trends of air concentrations of aerosol particles of various ranges and their correlations were estimated. At the design stage, the probability of accumulation of submicron particles and mercury vapour in the air basin, which poses a significant danger to the environment and public health, was determined. The data obtained from the results of simulation are intended for information provision of planning and implementation of measures for land reclamation and environmental improvement.